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India is all to kickstart their home Test series with the two-match series against Bangladesh. Notably, the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh will be India’s first after their T20 World Cup 2024 triumph in June in West Indies. Ahead of the Test series, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Sunday, September 8 named 16-member squad, which had some surprise inclusions as well.
While Rishabh Pant earned a recall in India’s Test team after his survived major car accident in December 2022, Yash Dayal was also among the surprise inclusions. Apart from this, Mohammed Shami and Shreyas Iyer were some of the notable exclusions despite some good performances in recent past. But ahead of the first Test, there is a big news surrounding India’s playing XI, adding that KL Rahul will get a nod ahead of Sarfaraz Khan.
KL Rahul to feature in India’s Playing XI for first Test
Sources close to BCCI have confirmed that wicketkeeper-batter, KL Rahul will get a nod ahead of Sarfaraz Khan, who made his debut in the India whites in England Test series in February-March 2024. “For people on the outside, they don't understand how a team works and what are the systems in place. In his last three Test matches, KL scored a century in South Africa, one of the best Test knocks in recent times and 86 at Hyderabad in the last Test he played before injury. He was not dropped but got injured. So, he is fit and available, scored a fifty in Duleep, got match time and he will start,” a BCCI source was quoted as saying by The Wire.
“Sarfaraz has done everything right and mind it, if there is an injury anywhere, he will just walk in but Rahul's experience is irreplaceable. And the team management is not just looking at Bangladesh, they are looking at Australia where previous experience matters,” the source added.
Drawing a comparison between KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan, the former has featured in 50 Tests, scoring 2863 runs at an average of 34.08 and a strike rate of 52.23. Moreover, KL Rahul in his last few Tests, have scored a century against South Africa and an 86 in Hyderabad before he sustained an injury. Whereas, Sarfaraz Khan has played only three Tests for India, amassing 200 runs at an average of 50 and strike rate of 79.36.
However, the decision on who will feature in the playing XI for India in the opening Test against Bangladesh will come in front with the match scheduled to start from September 19 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
India’s squad for first Test vs Bangladesh
Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Dayal.
